by R E Swirsky
Chapter 29
Tuesday, Dec 6th 7:17 pm
Louisie grabbed Jack's hand and smiled at him. Jack could tell his mom was just dying to muss his hair like she did when he made her proud as a young boy.
"You did good, Jack. Real good."
Jack nodded and smiled at her. "Thanks for being here. It was easier with you here." He did not really believe it, but it was what his mother wanted to hear.
Louisie ordered a pizza because neither of them wanted to cook. The pizza arrived and Louisie and Jack were plating up at the kitchen table when there was a quiet knocking at the back door. Jack did not hear it at first, but it repeated a little louder.
Jack opened the back door to find David Chow standing there and flipping his hand at Jack to come with him out back.
Jack was stunned by David’s sudden appearance and pushed him away from the door. He put his finger to his lips indicating that David keep his mouth shut until he closed the door. Jack turned to his mother. "Uh, I gotta go talk to this guy right now, mom. He's a friend of...of Josh Anderson." His mother's brow furled tightly.
Jack slipped into his snow boots and went outside, giving his mother a wink as he closed the door behind him.
"Come!" Jack ordered and began walking out through the shoveled path in the back yard towards the river path. He stopped about half way down and turned back to face David. "Why are you here?"
"I so sorry, Mr. Gardner. I just have to see you," he replied. "Why you no do nothing? Josh go to jail soon!"
Jack laughed nervously and paced. He glanced back to the house and could see his mother at the back window staring out at the two of them while she chomped on a slice of barbecue chicken pizza.
He rubbed his hands through his hair, unable to feel the cold outside even though he was not wearing a coat. His adrenalin kept him quite warm for the moment. He stared back at David on the edge of anger, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"I told you, Josh will not go to jail."
"Why you not do nothing? I not let Josh go to jail."
"Josh isn't going to jail, goddamn it! I told you already. Just wait. You'll see. Things are going to change soon, and Josh will be let go."
"Why you say such nonsense?" David responded. "I sit in courtroom and see. I see too, Mr. Gardner. It don't look good for Josh and trial hardly started."
"That's what I'm saying. You just keep calm and wait. If you do anything, you'll fuck this all up, and Josh will go to jail! Leave it alone, David! I will not let Josh go to jail. I promise."
David stared at Jack. It was clear that David thought Jack was just putting words out there just long enough to keep things going until it was too late for Josh.
"I don't want Josh to go to jail anymore than you do, David," Jack said.
"Then why you not do something?"
"I am doing something, you'll see soon." Jack then thought about using David's anxiousness to his advantage by having David deliver one of the pieces he still had buried away. He stared at David. Moments passed as he tried to fit David into the puzzle.
"I not let Josh go to jail. You clear things up, or I go to police on Friday. Show picture."
Friday. That left him two days.
"Okay, David," Jack said. He nodded and looked back up to the house. His mother was still there at the window staring down at them. Jack was starting to feel vulnerable to the cold without his jacket. "Promise me one thing, David."
"You say what Mr. Gardner, but I not let Josh go to jail."
"Just promise me you will talk to me before you speak to anyone. Promise me. I am going to help you with Josh. I am."
David stared at Jack with a look of desperation that slowly formed into a frown, and Jack could feel the distrust David had in him. Jack knew nothing could change without him, and Josh would go to jail if Jack took no action at all.
"Just wait. By the end of Thursday, you will know that I have done something to help Josh."
David continued to frown.
"Trust me, David. Your secret is safe, but you will know on Thursday that I have not let you down. I have my own reasons for helping Josh. You just have to believe me."
David simply nodded, turned away, and headed down the path towards the river, leaving Jack to shiver alone in the cold.
Jack returned to the house, and his mother asked him who that young man was again. Jack told his mother to never mind and refused to tell her anything about what was said. His mother was not pleased. "I think you are not telling me something. What have you done?"
Those words stung deep inside him, and his mother's ability to see through him when he lied to her as a child snuck its way back to the surface.
He forced a smile. "I've done nothing, mother. I am just doing what you taught me. I’m helping others. That fellow was a friend of Josh." Jack purposely kept David's name to himself. "He just wanted to talk, that's all."
His mother smiled back. "I always knew you were a good boy." She mussed his hair.
